Darkest Before Dawn
by Kitsune Krazy
Summary: ON HOLD
1. Rain, Rain, Go Away

**I'm starting with Hiei-chan because I can! Don't worry though, this story will be changing views to Kurama or Hiei depending on how well the chapter will flow from that POV, kk? Just wanna throw that out there so you Kurama fans don't beat me over with a rotten potato. **

It was dark. The night sky a pure blanket of black and, with it's cover, it brought the smell of damp pine needles and wet dirt. I knew a storm would be coming, that I should return to the fox's home. However, just because I could smell the moisture doesn't mean the storm would be so terrible I had to go crawling back to him. Even after all these years, I still relished the thought of being sheltered by anything; even if the only thing that could ever truly conquer me was the rain.

I propped my hands behind my head and burrowed deeper into the crook between the tree's large base and arm which I currently sat on. The tree was one of the few creature's I would enjoy being sheltered by; no, make that the only.

I took in a deep breath of the sweet, moist air and found a yawn caught deep in my throat that I eagerly released. I was tired. It had been too long since my last period of hibernation and I felt my body might be at it's limits. Still, I was too busy for rest. For the past week this forest has been whispering about some event that will come to past and although I feign indifference, I am just another curious animal waiting to see how it all plays out.

With another yawn I reach high above my head and stretch, my sore muscles grateful for the release, and I pull myself to my feet. My hand quickly brushes against my side and my fingers find the familiar handle of my katana. I run my hand softly, almost tenderly, over it's sheath; my fingers now completely engulfing the handle. I survey the area with a short glance and feed a few probing tendrils of ki out around my body. Only after confirming there are no dangers it the area do I dare turn my back away from the protective tree trunk and let it stay unguarded as I face parallel with the tree to face the horizon. There, low and gentle, is a tiny burst of color. The soothing oranges and pinks rest my soul, as if they congratulate me for surviving another night. Nonchalantly, I glance back at the final bits of night before the awakening sun pushes them away. Black. The purest form of the color there is and I find a random quote the fox read to me from a poetry novel a while back; _The night is darkest before the dawn. _

Looking back at the rising sun I nod to myself; it is so. Perhaps some humans do say things of worth every blue moon or so. Then I though of that ridiculous orange-haired oaf, and my miniscule respect for his race immediately plummets.

As much as I'd love to mock the less intelligent I have work to do. According to the forest's restlessness, and I'm well aware my information gathering when it comes to small '_cute_' animals and plants is no where near as good a Kurama's, whatever event that is going to happen _will_ happen; tonight.

I closed my eyes and feel the familiar surge of ki flow through my body. As soon as it reached my feet I set into a sprint, the familiar vertigo launching my stomach into my throat before my continues strides settle it back down. The forest whips around me in a blur and I keep my ki wide and flared for any new signs of life or activity in the area.

After an hour or so of searching the perimeter I'm confident no one will disturb me so I curl up in the nearest tree. The small, fluttery warmth from the tree reminds me of breathing and for a ridiculous moment I wonder if this sense of security I hold in the trees is similar to the feeling a mother and her young share. I refuse to dwell on the simpleminded comparison and let the tree and soft winds coax me into a much needed rest.

I find myself awakening at a strange tingling sensation at the base of my neck. An odd ki is flitting through the forest and I can hear the faint muttering of a female somewhere in the distance. Growling to myself I jumped to my feet and grabbed the base of my katana. I closed my eyes and stood there, listening, waiting for anything to tell me if this strange creature is an enemy or simply passing by.

I felt a shudder run through the length of my spine; I'd never felt a ki like this. I couldn't even begin to picture what kind of creature gave off such an odd aura but before I had a chance to find the thing, it vanished.

I waited a few more minutes, stone still, listening to the sound of my breathing and the rustling leaves behind me. Nothing. As quickly as it came, it vanished. I lifted my head to look at the graying clouds above my head. I despised rain and now I had another reason to return to the fox's home other than hiding from the elements. An enemy, I decided. Until I knew what that thing was, it was an enemy. And I needed to warn Kurama and possibly seek his advice.

**So? How do you guys like so far? Plz review and give me ur ideas, kk? Oh, and I know it's short, sorry!! I'll update really soon!!**


	2. I HATE computers 111! DX

**Alrightly, now the baton has been passed! It's time for Kurama's POV!!!**

It was a cool, breezy day, the clouds just starting to gray. The kind of weather one would expect hours before a storm. I had previously been tutoring Kuwabara in math at his house until I noticed those graying clouds outside his blue-rimmed window. I wished the best of luck to him on his test the following day and excused myself, knowing full well how worried my mother would be if I came home late during a storm. Normally, I would have planned to take the bullet train home, but something told me it would be in my best interest to take the subway. Instincts had never led me astray before so I made my way towards the subway stairwell. As I began my descent, I couldn't help but notice an enraged cry floating up towards me. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who noticed.

Curious, I couldn't help but quicken my pace a bit. Once at the bottom, I found the source of the commotion. It seemed that everyone in the area had stopped what they were doing to watch what an overly emotional foreigner panic. From what I could tell, the person causing the riot was no more than a young high school girl, probably my age, who was screaming a long stream of strange, probably English, words at one of the payphones. If I hadn't been studying math with Kuwabara for nearly the whole of the day, I might have understood her words. Then again, maybe not. She seemed like she might be the type to rant with either imaginary or nonsensical words when upset.

I found myself transfixed on the small girl and her complete and utter disregard for those around her. Wasn't she embarrassed to cause such a fuss in public? I watched as the girl threw the phone in her hand at the receiver with such velocity that it not only sent her beautiful, long blonde locks into complete disarray but also, to my utter astonishment, broke said phone neatly in half along its plastic fault line. I assume I wasn't the only shocked one. The girl stared at the phone in utter disbelief, as if what she had done wasn't possible, for about a split second before she started yelling frustration. As if she hadn't already attracted enough attention to herself, and caused enough harm to the public facilities, she brought up a lean, shapely leg down onto the phone booth which, predictably, sent it into tremors. She stood bent over and panting, her smooth little hands balls up into tight fists, for a few seconds before it finally seemed to dawn on her that this was no place to cause a scene. She whipped around to face the sea of astonished faces watching her. Her vast, sky blue eyes widened and a flush of color lit up her face in an instant. Suddenly, it was far to awkward to observe her little breakdown now that she seemed to have finally realize what she'd done and I found myself adverting my gaze. After a few seconds I determined my behaviors as ridiculous after all, why should I be embarrassed? It wasn't as if the girl's gaze was directed at me or I had been the one to cause such a commotion.

Chuckling to myself at my own ludicrously, I started to make my way to the ticket machines when I felt compelled to check on the girl on last time. To my disappointment, I couldn't manage to find her in the thicket of people, normally that wouldn't be so odd but, with such a unique hair color for Japan, she should have been as easy to spot as a beacon in the desert.

Perplexed, I made my way over towards the payphones. Nearing the phone booths, I discovered why I hadn't been able to initially locate her; she had slumped down against the wall and buried her face in her knees. Watching her in such a upset position, I suddenly felt the need to comfort her but, knowing it would probably scare her more than reassure her if I were to touch her, I asked her if she was alright. I waited awkwardly for a few seconds before I was convinced she hadn't heard me. I took a deep breath and, slowly, reached out and tapped her on the shoulder, hoping I wasn't crossing any boundaries by doing so.

"Mmwuat?" No matter how simple the word she said was, I couldn't begin to decipher what it meant muffled against her legs like that. Thankfully, after she growled that out in what could only be described as tired annoyance, she looked up at me.

"Excuse me." I started, trying to ensure that I wasn't trying to heckle her in the least. "Are you alright?"

I waited patiently for an answer and expected to only see a hint of confusion if she didn't know Japanese. The expression she gave me however wasn't exactly how I expected though… She seemed lost, like she'd just woken from a particularity troubling dream. It was nothing short of utter disbelief that caused her plump, pink lips to part into a tiny 'o'.

Suddenly I felt self-conscious.

Perhaps it was my bright hair that made her stare at me like I'd grown a second head. Perhaps I'd been wrong and she was actually German and was unaccustomed my unique hair color as I was to hers. Looking back on my memories I can't say I'd ever met a blonde except for the 'beautiful' Suzuka and, let's face it, I don't think he was in the standard side of the genes. Then again maybe I was looking too far into the matter at hand. Perhaps she really just was baffled by the language barrier after all. Awkwardly, I shifted my weight to soften her gaze and tried again more slowly. "Are you alright?"

Like a trap door, her mouth clamped shut quickly and she nodded. Relieved that she was, I smiled at her and waited a second to see if she needed any directions. When she didn't say anything, I decided that was my clue to leave her in peace and started to stand up, wondering if I'd missed my train.

"W-wait a sec!" Her accent was awkward and slightly slurred, as if she hadn't spoken Japanese in a long time. Her bright blue eyes seemed frantic at the though I might leave. It would appear she really did need assistance, however I wasn't aware just how much and her next question took me off guard. "What country are we in?"

Country? How could she possibly not know what country she was in? She must have boarded a plane or something to get here, did she just jump on without any knowledge of where she'd end up? Or maybe… what if this girl was in trouble? A storm of thoughts rained down on my conscious, ranging from the probable to the barely possible. "Why Japan, of course." I resisted the urge to ask her any subtle questions that could help me root out any answers from her that might help me better understand her situation.

She processed this and said, "Do you know where I can find a police box?" She looked down quickly as if she was ashamed to ask for assistance. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she looked back up at me and said shyly, "I'm Midori…"

I couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow at that. It wasn't too often in the manner conscious Japan that you would hear such a statement, almost a demand. Not sure how to respond, I simply said, "Traditionally, you'd give your name _before _asking information." As and additional note, I decided she should know my name, as well as the fact I could provide the information she may need, "I'm Minamino Shuuichi. If you're lost, I do know where a police box is but, if you just need information, I might be of assistance."

Midori's aqua orbs widened slightly, as if she were taken aback by my offer and, suspicious, she narrowed her eyes at me. "Helpful, _how_?"

I knew it was impolite and I tried to hold the impulse, I really did, but watching her cute little demeanor shift so quickly made me laugh. With those sky blue eyes, rosy cheeks and soft, cream colored skin, she looked more like an enraged kitten rather than a cautious teenager. Even more amusing, it seemed like she'd mixed up my attempt at chivalry as some sort of pick up line. "Don't worry," I assured, still amused, "I won't try anything."

Her cheeks colored with embarrassment, she stood up and dusted herself off quickly, "Well, since that's been cleared." She mumbled under her breath, "Lead the way."

Smiling to myself, I was prepared to do just that when I noticed her picking up a very heavy looking bag. I asked her if she'd like me to help carry it, but she clung to it like it was her child. Sighing, I decided she still had to warm up to me.

We left the station and headed down Main Street, it was only a half mile to the nearest police block but I couldn't help but worry about the extra weight Midori was lugging. That and the fact that she seemed to be carrying a school backpack made me wonder if she was really as alright as she said she was. We walked in silence for a minute or two before I felt compelled to say something to dispel the awkward aura around us. She seemed to be thinking pretty hard about something so I decided the best thing to do was to go with simple conversational questions but, before I could ask, she beat me to it.

"So, um, Shuu-chan, right?" I was completely perplexed that, less than 5 minutes after meeting me, she would feel comfortable enough to give me a nickname. Or maybe she wasn't comfortable and that's just how they did it in her country? I quickly ran through all the cultures I knew of that could possible have such a lax introductory system, but came up with none.

"That's right." I said, not minding the nickname but wondering if I should tell it wasn't necessarily polite in Japan.

"So, you're about my age, right?" I looked down to find Midori staring up at me, eyes speculating.

"That depends. How old are you?" I asked. She scowled and looked away.

"Fifteen."

"Then yes. I am about your age." _In the body of my human existence at least…_

"_How _'about my age' are you?" She persisted, I sighed to myself.

"Exactly your age; I'm fifteen as well."

"Your freakishly tall to be my age." She sighed and stuck her hands behind her head, "Ah well, it seems to me like there's no middle ground for Asian males anyway…"

"Pardon, but what middle ground are you referring to? And how can you be sure I'm not a foreigner, as well?"

"You're accent's too flawless, not to mention you're showing me around. I doubt you're an exceptionally well informed local, you must live here." Well, she did have a good argument. However how could she know I hadn't moved from another country? Even if my accent was impeccable I could still technically be foreign, after all I noticed once she got used to speaking with me, her accent seemed flawless as well. In fact, if I hadn't actually seen her- say we were talking on the phone- I would have taken her foreign average Japanese citizen. Before I could voice this, she continued, "And it seems to me like there's no middle height with Asian guys is what I mean. You're either short or freakishly tall. What happened to average? Although I'm sure there are plenty, it seems any Asian guy I met follows the 'no mids' rule."

Well that was certainly an interesting view. However, I suppose my height would indeed be tall in any culture. I couldn't help but chuckle to myself when I though about her bumping into Kuwabara, who is taller than I, or Hiei who was, well… lacking in stature. Just like that, the seemingly guarded girl was laughing and joking with me, opening herself up like a blossoming rose. As expected, her core was very sweet just like her appearance but she was also, very unique. In fact, I was so drawn to this charming little lady that I had forgotten all of my worries pertaining to get home before the storm hit. A sudden drop of liquid reminded me soon enough. I stopped and smelled the air. It _was_ going to rain. I sighed and quietly voiced the thought to make it more real to myself, "Seems like it will rain soon." The heavens agreed and sent forth another drop of water; I easily caught it on my hand.

"Is that good or bad?" I looked over to find a pair of curious blue eyes. Midori raised an eyebrow and then, like everything made sense to her, smiled. "You're not afraid of getting your hair wet are you?" She asked slyly as if were the kind to fret over grooming.

I gave her a teasing smile and told her I wouldn't mind it any more than she might. Not wanting to ignore her actual question, I told her that it was a good thing, especially for the plants. "But we should be careful not to catch a cold." I added, rain wasn't _always_ the best thing for humans after all and I didn't want her to get sick because of my own carelessness.

"Yeah," Midori rolled her eyes, "Hard to save yourself from illness in such a _terrible_ downpour."

It could only be the work of Murphy's law, or perhaps even karma, that triggered a full sprinkle the second those words left her mouth. I went to say something teasingly sarcastic back but lost track of what I was going to say when I saw her face. Her eye twitched ever so slightly, eyebrows knitted together, and her full lips drew into a tight frown. I almost laughed but covered my mouth quickly to prevent it, nevertheless, I couldn't help but let out a small snort. Midori, who had somehow pegged me as the one to blame, turned and glared at me. It was all I could do to keep from an all out fit of giggles.

I'd offered her my jacket several times to cover herself but she wouldn't accept it. The only preventative measure she bothered to take was to pull out a waterproof covering attached to her backpack to cover it with, I found such asite to be a little less than ordinary.

It was an immense relief to finally find and enter the police box; the sprinkle had evolved into a heavy downpour. Once inside, I tried to dislodge some of the water from my hair near the back corner of the office; I didn't want to appear rude or ungrateful in any way by soaking the officer's workspace. Midori however, didn't seem to mind whatever impression the officer was bound to get of her. She shrugged off her heavy backpack and shook out her long, golden locks like a golden retriever. I smiled sheepishly at the man behind the counter who had now transfixed Midori with a displease glare that could possibly even rival Hiei. Possibly. Feeling awkward, I decided to stay where I was but Midori didn't seem to mind the man's attitude at all. She walked up to the counter, leaned on it and shook the water out of her shoes, then looked up and asked the police man in broken Japanese where any hotels were. It was odd hearing such perfect pronunciation of such oddly place words. She quickly corrected herself but it was still pretty amusing. However, there was someone who wasn't very amused with her antics. The police officer gave me a look that seemed to ask what could possibly be wrong with Midori before, grumbling, he pulled out a map and circled all locations of cheap hotels.

This disturbed me. She hadn't known what country she was in and now she was searching for inexpensive hotels with heavy emphasis on 'inexpensive'. Was she lost or something? Earlier worries seemed to unravel inside me and I decided that if she needed a place to stay, it would be with me.

**Ooh, Kurama seemes pretty decided huh? Srry for the short chappie and anticlimactic ending of it. I had another page typed up but when I went to publish it, it… died. And now I'm too pissed to properly end da chappie!! Srry… I need a break from Kurama… so, onto Midori!!! (You Wish update in case u missed da hint! XD)**


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